Russian oil producer Lukoil PJSC is set to sell its international assets to energy trader Gunvor Group. This comes a week after being hit by US sanctions, and the world has been reacting.
Lukoil recently revealed that it has accepted an offer from Gunvor and committed to not negotiating with other potential buyers.
If sealed, the deal would automatically transfer a global network of oil fields, refineries and gas stations to one of the world’s top independent commodity traders.
Recall that the US blacklisted oil giants Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil days ago amid its plans to end the war in Ukraine by reducing Moscow’s revenues.
It was the first major sanction on Russia’s oil industry since Donald Trump returned to office, and it has put governments and business partners in panic mode.
According to a source, the offer, still undisclosed at this point, includes Lukoil International’s trading arm Litasco, but excludes the business units in Dubai which could potentially be hit with sanctions.
Gunvor Group and Russia go way back. Its co-founder Gennady Timchenko was placed under US sanctions after the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, with the American government alleging at the time that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “investments in Gunvor,” which the company has repeatedly denied.
Since Gennady sold his shares, it is now majority-owned by co-founder and chief executive officer Torbjorn Tornqvist.
Lukoil is the most internationally diverse of Russia’s oil giants. Its assets include oil fields, refineries and a network of over 5,000 gas stations from the US to Belgium.
Its trading arm Litasco, which operates from Geneva and Dubai, purchased and sold an average of 1.19 million barrels a day in 2024, according to its annual report.
It, however, came under pressure from banks and other commodity dealers after sanctions were imposed on Lukoil by the US and UK.
